Omar Vizquel

Omar Vizquel , born Omar Enrique Vizquel González (April 24, 1967 in Caracas, Venezuela), is a Major League Baseball shortstop who plays with the San Francisco Giants. Previously, Vizquel played for the Seattle Mariners (1989-93) and Cleveland Indians (1994-2004). He is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed.

Career

Vizquel represents another link in the chain of gifted shortstops from Venezuela, a chain that includes Chico Carrasquel, Luis Aparicio, Dave Concepción and Ozzie Guillén. He has very soft hands and recovers quickly from miscues. With a good range to both sides, he can throw off-balance with a quick release. Vizquel turns the double play fearlessly, and no one handles popups in short left field or down the line with such ease. His barehanded plays on slow bounding balls constantly frustrate opposing batters. In 2002, he made only seven errors in 150 games, but the Gold Glove Award went to Alex Rodriguez to end Vizquel's nine-year run as the reigning shortstop in the American League.

Related Topics:
Chico Carrasquel - Luis Aparicio - Dave Concepción - Ozzie Guillén - Double play - Popup - Left field - 2002 - Errors - Gold Glove Award - Alex Rodriguez - American League

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Vizquel was signed by Seattle as a non-drafted free agent in 1984 and made his debut on April 3, 1989. His glovework was evident when he broke in the American League, but it took him some years to master the art of hitting. At the beginning Vizquel was strictly a singles hitter. In his first three seasons with Seattle, he batted .220, .247 and .230 with only 39 extrabases. After hitting .294 in 1992, he was headed for a repeat performance in 1993. Vizquel was hitting .292 at the All-Star break, but he batted only .202 the rest of the way finishing with .252. The problem was mere fatigue. A small man at 5'9 and 163 pounds, Vizquel had never 550 at-bats in a full season. But he nonetheless contributed on offense, bunting to advance runners and drawing some walks. At the end of the season he was traded to Cleveland for two players and cash.

Related Topics:
1984 - 1989 - Hitting - 1992 - 1993 - All-Star - At-bats - Walks

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A strict workout routine and adjustments in the batting cage made Vizquel a more complete and stronger hitter with the Indians. In 1996 he batted .297, with nine home runs, 64 runs batted in, 98 runs, 36 doubles, and a .362 on base percentage. In the years to come, he hit .280 .288, a career-high .333 in 1999, and .287 the next year. In the same period he steal 179 bases. On the field, Vizquel teamed with second baseman Roberto Alomar one of the most decorated keystone combination of all time.

Related Topics:
1996 - Home run - Runs batted in - Runs - Doubles - On base percentage - 1999 - Steal - Second baseman - Roberto Alomar

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After hit 14 homers and 72 RBI career-highs in 2002,Vizquel underwent a surgery on his right knee to repair a cartilage. He played only 64 games in 2003 when a second surgery was necessary.

Related Topics:
2002 - 2003

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In 2004, Vizquel returned in good form hitting .291 in 148 games. He was signed by the Giants as a free agent at the end of the season.

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In a 16-year career, Vizquel is a .275 hitter with 66 home runs and 715 RBI in 2138 games.

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